Re: Generic spooled file concept

[CRPence <CRPbottle@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tom Liotta wrote:
> I'm not looking for serious technical info on this since I can do
> most of the stuff on i that I want to do. What I'm looking for is
> some illumination. Just trying to understand mind-sets.
>
> I regularly see requests about how to move or copy or display (or 
> whatever) "our AS/400 reports" on Windows PCs.  I'm pretty sure most
> of us have seen related requests.
>
> How often do requests happen like "How can I move (or copy or display
> or whatever) my Windows spooled files on another PC (or wherever)?"
>
> I don't think I've personally ever seen a request for anything like
> what I see for spooled files from AS/400s.
>
> Sure, everybody wants PDFs from everything; but, for those, it
> doesn't really matter what system is involved. I'm interested in
> hearing about requests for the actual spooled files themselves.
>
> <<SNIP>>

  If you are talking about users, then I can mostly only groan, with 
regard to your question.  When a user spends fifteen minutes or perhaps 
even hours, just to insert tabs or spaces to realign variable pitch font 
text within a document to achieve the aligned appearance of its original 
fixed font text, there is no divining what they want.  FWiW that is the 
primary reason that I have heard such requests, because their copy\paste 
or transfer is not aligned as they had seen it in the SPLF [or does not 
appear as when they spool it from a PC tool which would accomplish the 
alignment irrespective of font].  The number of times I have received 
such a document is staggering; a document where correcting an embedded 
report by changing the text to be in its original fixed font, the report 
was then so radically changed as to no longer be consumable -- thus only 
its rendering as variable font text in the document viewer would suffice 
as a somewhat consumable form.

  <humor> For anything else, what they want is often beyond my 
understanding; at least without first having consumed so much alcohol 
that I might pass out, versus the intended effect of finally becoming so 
feeble minded ;-) that I might actually experience an epiphany. </humor>